Cog

How big is your boat? You could get some bales of straw, slide your boat on top of them, and throw a tarp or cover over your boat while you work on the trailer. Then when you are done back up the trailer in front of your boat and winch it off the straw back to the trailer.

Since I'll be running this 17' tandem solo, do you think a folding camping chair would work if I put it near the middle, behind the yoke? I was thinking that: 1. Remove the back thwart 2. Attach outrigger/trolling motor mount in the same holes that the thwart uses 3. Put camping chair in front of it I can see that the camping chair would be taller than a traditional canoe seat, which would make the canoe kinda wobbly and also make it harder to paddle efficiently. But I guess if I am going to be using the trolling motor paddling would be a back up in case of power failure. I just think it would be a lot more comfortable and the breathable fabric would be nice and comfy in the hot sun.

Cool idea with the corkboard and magnetic knife holder. I like your home-made wooden frame. I might have to build something that will mount directly on the yoke or thwart. I like that it's slideable but something that would hook right on to a yoke or thwart would help keep clutter down (it's easy to accumulate when you've got snacks, drinks, a backpack, tackle box, etc.).

Cool, good to know. And your design of motor + anchor on the same beam as the outriggers makes it even easier to assemble.

Goose- Your canoe was actually inspiration for my design. Lol. Thanks for the ideas. Have you tried your outriggers further ahead to compare what the stability is like when behind your seat? I'd prefer not to drill more holes than necessary. I'm not sure what sort of clamp would be a good alternative either when I am figuring a design out still either. Kevin-- Sorry, it is just an old bed frame. I am just calling it angle iron since it is L shaped. The iron on it is like 1" x 1" probably. I am actually out of town for the weekend but it's the same thing that you have under your bed. Just figured it'd be an easy repurpose. It probably is not as heavy as that stuff and since I have it on hand... the extra weight probably won't make a huge difference when the canoe itself is already 70 lbs. I won't be portaging it, just dumping it off of my car and assembling at the boat launch. I have done many trips with the canoe b myself fishing and had no issues. Just fun to do the project and the stability to stand for farther casts would be nice. I enjoy paddling also, but being able to troll at a controlled speed wil also be nicer for fishing.

Any idea what the aluminum stock for this project might run? There is a welding place a few miles from my home. Was trying to keep costs low and go DIY for fun. I was looking at pics of other 'tricked out' canoes all morning and kinda took the ideas I liked to make it. The video on youtube was pretty helpful explaining the dock bumpers. Some of the canoes I saw on this website are crazy... but some mods are probably best left to 13-14' solo canoeinstead of a 17' tandem.

Hey guys, I have an alumacraft canoe and am looking to do a bit more fishing with it on rivers and lakes. I have an old bedframe in the garage that I have been trying to think of a good project for and think I might have my idea. Cut a piece of angle iron long enough to mount an anchor winch and trolling motor to. Angle iron will be attached to canoe by drilling a hole thru the iron and a hole thru the gunwales, the kept in place with a bolt on each side. Cut a piece of angle iron long enough to mount some outriggers. I saw on Youtube a guy who got some big 20" dock bumpers from Wal-mart and attached them to a wood frame. I'd have to probably bolt another piece of angle iron or some wood going down and then attach the bumpers to it. But that should not be hard to do. I have a portable fish finder, Humminbird Piranha 130. It runs on a battery. I would mount the fish finder either to the angle iron with outriggers or to the yoke of the canoe. The batteries for the fish finder and trolling motor would be up center in a rubbermaid tote with some holes drilled thru for wires. What do y'all think? Any reason this wouldn't work out? Anyone with a similar setup have trouble with line getting tangled up in the trolling motor or outriggers? I guess that's why it should be cut as close to the canoe as possible. Also the angle iron might be heavy and could rust which may be a problem. But I feel like it is a lot sturdier than thin wood and probably more portable (smaller dimensions) than wood. Maybe give it a good coating of Rustoleum paint before taking it on the water. Thanks